Coronavirus: UK man wears only underwear to supermarket after clothes deemed 'non-essential'

A man has visited a welsh supermarket in his underwear to protest a ban on selling clothes, which are deemed "non-essential" under new lockdown rules.

Wales went into a "firebreak" lockdown on Saturday to halt the spread of COVID-19. The lockdown requires people to stay at home with few exceptions.

Supermarkets in Wales have blocked off aisles stocking "non-essential items" to stop clothes, shoes, toys, electronics and bedding from being sold. 

To protest the new restrictions, Christopher Noden visited a Tesco supermarket wearing just a facemask and his underwear.

A video of the 38-year-old walking into the store unclothed has clocked up more than 230,000 views on Facebook.

In the video description, his wife Dawn Noden said: "Please note that no lockdown rules were broken, nobody was put at risk, this non-essentials list is beyond a joke!"

"Chocolate, sugar, alcohol and tobacco all classed as essential items?"

More than 42,000 people have signed a petition demanding the restrictions are reversed.

First Minister Mark Drakeford said the ban will be reviewed on Monday.

"We know people are fed up. It's not easy, but we all have a responsibility to stop the virus spreading," Drakeford tweeted on Sunday.

Drakeford said the ban was "to make sure common sense is applied" and to create an "equal playing field" for other businesses forced to close.

On Sunday, the Welsh Government tweeted that the non-essential item ban was "not for the sake of being difficult".

"The purpose of selling essential items only during firebreak is to discourage spending more time than necessary in shops and to be fair to retailers who have to close," the Welsh Government tweeted.

"We need to do everything we can to minimise the time we spend outside our homes. This will help save lives and protect the NHS."

Wales recorded 16 more deaths and 1,324 new confirmed cases on Saturday.